A Heart of Help

Listening and learning from people with experience of substance use and sanctuary seeker services in Wales.

… a little bit of compassion and a little bit of empathy - generally that makes a person wanna stay

Read Heart of Help | Read Executive Summary

How can we create the right conditions for people to be supported in a relational way?

Heart of Help is a report that gathers people’s real-life views and experiences, alongside findings from focus groups, to ask this key question.

The aim of the report was to explore the understanding and experiences of the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework from the perspective of people with lived experience of using substances or seeking sanctuary.

We were delighted to work with Welsh Refugee Council, who conducted the literature search for people seeking sanctuary, and coordinated focus groups and interviews. We were also pleased to have support from GDAS, who helped us with interviews and focus groups for people they support.

Our findings underlined what we have long seen ourselves at Platfform: that the system is not currently working in a way that makes it easy for practitioners to be vulnerable, reflective, or to offer the holistic support that people want and need.

Platfform was commissioned by Traumatic Stress Wales (TSW), in collaboration with ACE Hub Wales, to support the delivery and implementation commitments of the Trauma Informed Wales Framework.

This report was made possible through the support of the New System Alliance, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

What’s your commitment to change? If Heart of Help has resonated with you after reading, please tell us what commitments to change you’d like to make that will help you and the systems you operate in work in a way that prioritises love, warmth and human connection. Share your thoughts here.

Paper copies: if you’d like a physical copy of the report, please get in touch with commsteam@platfform.org